UMass continues to dominate state's list of top wage earners

No medical school employees who earn $120,000 or more 'get one penny' from state taxpayers, said Ed Keohane, a spokesman for UMass Medical. Those staff members are included on the list, however, because they work for the state.

The University of Massachusetts dominated the list of state employees who made more than $100,000 last year, with 49 of the top 50 spots held by doctors, administrators, and coaches.

At $784,468, the top 2012 salary ­belonged to Michael F. Collins, who holds dual roles in the university, as chancellor of the medical school and ­senior vice president for health sciences at the university. He was also the state's highest paid employee in 2011.

For the second year in a row, the number two salary went to Terence R. Flotte, the medical school's dean, who was paid $712,041.

Typically, UMass employees, particularly those at the medical school, are heavily represented in the top-earner brackets.

Overall, nearly 7,700 state employees across a variety of departments earned $100,000 or more, up from about 6,900 employees in 2011. In total, the state employs about 100,000 full- and part-time workers.

Gov. Deval Patrick, who earns $139,832, could not even crack the top 1,500. He was clustered in with state police officers, professors, and a dentist.

Of those making more than $100,000, about 2,500 were UMass employ­ees. The State Police had nearly 1,600 earning six figures. The list does not include quasi-public agencies such as the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Two UMass coaches were also high on the list: basketball coach Derek ­Kellogg, at $628,624, and football coach Charles Molnar, at $401,250.

The only non-UMass official to break the top 50, at number 49, was another educator, Bridgewater State University president Dana Mohler-Faria, who earned $262,429.

The top state salary outside academia belonged to Chief Medical Examiner Henry Nields, with $257,500 in 2012.

UMass officials were quick to point out that the bulk of the money paid to medical school employees comes from other than taxpayer revenue, typically a combination of consulting fees, contract services, and ­research licensing. The medical school's revenue last year was about $900 million.

No school employees who earn $120,000 or more “get one penny” from state taxpayers, said Ed Keohane, a spokesman for UMass Medical. Those staff members are included on the list, however, because they work for the state.

“We are able to ensure that taxpayers are not footing the bill,” Keohane said.

Responsibilities of Collins, the year's top earner, include overseeing three schools: a school of medicine, a graduate school of nursing, and a graduate school of biomedical science. He also heads up a grant-funded science research enterprise that brings in about $250 million annually.

In addition, he runs two businesses under the medical school's umbrella, Commonwealth Medicine, a health-care consultant group, and the 200-employee MassBiologics in Mattapan, which makes one-third of the country's tetanus vaccine. MassBiologics is also working on treatments to cure rabies.

“There are certainly people who make large salaries, predominantly at the medical school,” said Robert Connolly, a vice president at UMass. “The numbers you see reflect their responsibilities.”